Smooth Hacks: 10 Shortcuts For A Better Morning Routine

10 Hacks To Make Your Morning Routine Smoother Than Ever

Sometimes, life feels like an endless, uphill battle. Wake up, make yourself presentable, go to your job, come home, sleep and then do it all again. But it’s also true that everywhere in life, there are opportunities for improvement, also known as "lifehacks". One of the most hackable places in your home is your bathroom, from what you do in it to how you keep it clean and we’re here to help you squeeze the most out of your morning free time.

Aloe Your Hairstyle To Shine

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Ok, chill. It’s not as gross as it may sound. Instead of constantly glooping loads of hair gel (like that doesn’t sound nasty) on your mane in order to finally, fiiiiinally get it to look the way you want, use a little aloe. Why, you ask? Well it’s healthier for your hair due to its healing properties and richness in amino acids, iron, potassium and calcium, and will add a natural shine to your perfectly styled coif.

Homemade Deodorant

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Ok, look. Yes, deodorant is like $3 a stick and it kinda sorta works just fine. But this is about bathroom hacks, and this is as ‘hacky’ as it gets. Deodorants primarily work by reducing moisture and neutralizing odors, things that cornstarch and baking soda are very good at, respectively. Just mix the two together and apply it under your arms like a powder, just not too much — you don’t want a paste situation happening at an inopportune moment.

Clean Your Shower Tiles

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Being smooth doesn’t mean just your body, but also the space in which you live, sleep, eat and clean. You wouldn’t want to have a lady friend over only to have her bolt out because of your dirty grimy shower. Clean those tiles by creating a mixture of water and bleach in a spray bottle and then applying to the dirty tiles. It’s important to let it completely dry and then pounce on it with a toothbrush.

Use Body Wash To Shave Sensitive Areas

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You know the places we’re talking about. When going to manscape avoid grabbing the shaving cream or gel and instead reach for the body wash. It lathers really well and makes the hair down there softer when shaving, preventing any rashes. To better moisturize your skin, use a body wash that has body butter in it — trust us, she will more than appreciate it.

Oil the Inside of Your Cardboard Toilet Paper Roll

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That woefully underpowered fan in the ceiling does nothing to help with certain bathroom odors, and even if you keep a candle in your bathroom, how often do remember to light it? Instead, sprinkle a few drops of essential oils (lavender is nice, so is citrus) on the inside of your toilet paper roll. Every time you use it, you’ll freshen up your bathroom.

Use Newspaper In Your Sink When Shaving to Clean Up Easier

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Newsflash: The women in your life are not impressed with how much hair you cut off your face when you leave the clippings in the sink. Wet shavers can take care of this by simply rinsing the sink out, but dry shavers or guys trimming their beard can get hairs literally everywhere. To make cleaning up easier, try draping some newspaper into the sink and dampening it. It’ll catch all the hairs, and all you have to do to clean up is throw it away or recycle it.

Avoid Shaving Immediately After Waking Up

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While beards are definitely having a moment, many of us enjoy a cleaner shaven face, and thus jump to rid ourselves of any impure facial hairs as soon as the cock crows. Don’t do that. Go milk the cows or boil your clothes, or something. Your skin is puffy when you first wake up, and shaving at that point will result in an instant five o’clock shadow as the skin retreats and reveals more hair. Give yourself 15-20 minutes, then grab your BIC® Flex 5 razor and get all those tricky spots with its precision edging blade before starting your dreaded workday.

Fix Oily Skin With a Coffee Filter

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Why is it that women are so much, like, smarter about their skincare than men are? After all, we both have faces, and they experience many of the same issues. Women apply moisturizer when their skin gets dry, while men walk around looking like they’re suffering from some late-stage health issue. When things go wrong the other way, women have these nifty things called ‘blotting papers’ to soak up all their face grease. You probably don’t have those, but a coffee filter will produce the same result.

Sink Amplifier

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Minus winning the lottery, shower time is probably the best time to jam out. But even the latest and greatest phones have speakers that sound like a hornet caught in a beer can, which really brings the mood down. But assuming your sink is bowl-shaped (not one of those nice, deep basin-style sinks they put in luxury homes, Mr. Fancypants), you have in it a natural sound amplifier. Just make sure it’s dry.

Shave Your Mirror

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You don’t actually have to shave your mirror, per say, unless it has hair growing on it, in which case that’s actually your cat you’re staring at and you really ought to lay off the hard stuff. What does the job is shaving cream. Put a dab in your hand, smear it across the mirror and wipe it clean. Not only will your mirror be cleaner than it’s probably been in months, but it’ll resist fogging for about three weeks. The soap is what does the trick and any soap will do, but shaving cream is easiest.